- Joined
- Jun 8, 2016
- Messages
- 56
Get a life! Who on earth would feed a tortoise dog food- You??? She had her trimmings and you are beyond. When you get your Vet license in reptiles I might take you seriously otherwise you know nothingHuh? How can a vet look at the exterior of a tortoise and tell you that what you're feeding it is good? She has a lot of new growth on her carapace, and it looks pretty good to me, but for all I know you're feeding her dog food. No way to tell by looking. Also, her beak needs a trim.
You are talking to the head moderator and the world's nicest person. Then I'll tell you that everything she told you is correct and I can't see where she was offensive in the least...you on the other hand must be a regular on FB cuz we don't act like that here...and her beak is way too long...Get a life! Who on earth would feed a tortoise dog food- You??? She had her trimmings and you are beyond. When you get your Vet license in reptiles I might take you seriously otherwise you know nothing
Just to clarify - I never suggested anyone was feeding dog food to their tortoise. I merely said, just looking at a tortoise one could not know what was being fed to the tortoise. . . might be dog food. . . might be cranberries. . . one can't tell by looking what the tortoise is eating (wondering how the vet could tell)
I don't owe you an apology for anything. I was trying to let you know you're being an ***, and keep you from being banned or something....I will push for it now....moderator????pm mestop obviously she is not the world's nicest person for suggesting that anyone would feed their Russian Tortoise dog food. She and you owe me an apology. You can contact my Vet Dr. King at Watson Road Veterinarian clinic in St Louis Mo who says Sally would not need a beak trim for another 6 months! Here is the phone number 314-644-1544
It's ok. The OP misunderstood my post. Sometimes the written word doesn't come out like as if it were spoken. You all can let it lie. No need to defend me.Not that I really want to get in an argument on here but by replying I probably will. I looked up this Veterinary practice because AS A veterinarian, I am fully aware of how specialized exotic pet care is. I also know that many general practitioners have an interest in exotics but that doesn’t mean they have a lot of experience. None of the vets in this practice lists board certification in any specialty let alone exotics. The services listed for the practice only mentions treatment of dogs and cats. I don’t know why the OP came out angry and swinging. Many people have differing opinions but Yvonne’s response was not in any way rude and I don’t see any justification for the OPs claims
I am being an a-- because I defended myself from accusations that were completely false? Look at my original post sent about Sally's trip to her vet. Then someone replied I feed Sally Dog Food and her beak needs trimming whatI don't owe you an apology for anything. I was trying to let you know you're being an ***, and keep you from being banned or something....I will push for it now....moderator????pm me
Why would I choose the vet you suggested? I have a Vet who specializes in reptiles? The nasty comments I received are were totally out of line. My post was a comment about Sally going to the vet. Please reread it and you will see it was not even a drop of "so there" attitude. I am so put off by responses here. I am not some young stupid person. Before I even got Sally I did massive research about Tortoises more probably most people on here. Just because I am an animal lover and an AKC breeder doesn't say I feed Sally dog food. This is what I objected to and want an apology for the pile on. Not everyone here is a Russian Tortoise expert and I thought this was a forum to post your pet and say things without getting attacked. By the way, tell the person who commented to me about FB I haven't been there in years and has nothing to do with anything. If this forum can't be respectful that is your problem. I have never been disrespectful to anyone here unless they commented something out of bounds. I am trying to let you know that I am not the one here who doesn't know about Sally or would take her to anyone I didn't completely trust. So please look inward to the people that started this. I love animals but refuse to be treated like I am unaware of anything to do about Sally. Thank youYour tortoise has beautiful coloring, and I'm glad you took her to the vet. It sounds like you went into this thread with a 'so there!' kind of attitude. Please remember that keeping an open mind, being receptive to constructive criticism, and being willing to learn is in the best interest of our tortoises. I know it doesn't feel good to be told you're doing something wrong. I've made mistakes in the past, which were pointed out to me by knowledgeable keepers like @Yvonne or @Tom and my tortoises are healthier 12 years later than they would have been if I stubbornly continued wrong practices. We all recognize this is YOUR tortoise and nobody can force you to do anything different, since we live in a free country where you can choose to be a good or bad keeper. Clearly you love your tortoise. Many of us started our journey of tortoise keeping based on incorrect or incomplete information. Hopefully, for the sake of our tortoises, we can set aside our egos a little bit, and do better once we know better.
Did you choose your vet from the Tortoise Vet list here on the Tortoise forum? Many vets who claim to be proficient in tortoise care are actually only marginally qualified. So your vet may or may not be qualified to pronounce your tortoise in perfect health.
Personally, without running a blood panel to check for organ function, WBC, and mineral balances, fecal exam to check for healthy poop consistency and presence or absence of parasites, and x-rays to look at bone density and absense of bladder stones, I do not think a tortoise can be pronounced "in perfect health"... Those are expensive and stressful for a tortoise though, so I wouldn't subject a healthy animal to those tests. Looking at a tortoise from the outside, the most can be said is 's/he appears to be healthy'...
In tortoises, everything happens slowly. So, wrong feeding (I'm assuming you are defensively referencing some past thread?) can take a while to show negative effects.
Here is what I see looking at your tortoise. This is not meant as criticism, but to show that some things CAN be interpreted from the outside 'look' at the tortoise:
Her beak is very overgrown, which tells me she is probably eating a lot of soft grocery store foods (rather than tough to bite wild weeds and wildflowers, preferably grazing on her own rather than being presented a handy pile). I would NOT wait 6 months to trim that beak. Trimming the beak is an easy and quick procedure (which I have performed hundreds of times for tortoises in the local rescue, as well as at tortoise grooming clinics held in our community). Btw, if your vet tells you the tortoise needs to be anaesthetized for it to be done, find a different vet. A good vet tech or vet with tortoise experience will know the proper holds to quickly snap off the overhang and file it smooth.
Her bright yellow shell MAY indicate she is mostly kept indoors. UV from sunlight usually will give the keratin a slightly more olive tint. And the waxy appearance indicates very fast growth, which is common in tortoises kept in captivity, since they get a larger volume of food. There is slight pyramiding visible, which tells me that at some point your tortoise was kept in a too-dry environment. This may have been in your care, or before you got her.
Russian tortoises are resilient, and can survive harsh environments in the wild. This makes them one of the more forgiving species for pet care... Which means one can (for a while) get away with less than ideal foods, UV, heat, living space etc. - but since the information on how to 'do it right' is available pinned to the top of the RT forum, why not try to collectively do our best for our tortoises? With proper care, she will outlive you.
Sally went to the vet this weekend, Dr King said she looked healthy, great. Her weight was good, her shell looked great, so much for the naysayers who criticized me on her foodView attachment 340877
So, here is where your 'so there' attitude is reflected.so much for the naysayers who criticized me on her food
Nobody thinks you are a young thing who didn't do your research. You have made it very clear you are not this.I am being an a-- because I defended myself from accusations that were completely false? Look at my original post sent about Sally's trip to her vet. Then someone replied I feed Sally Dog Food and her beak needs trimming what
Why would I choose the vet you suggested? I have a Vet who specializes in reptiles? The nasty comments I received are were totally out of line. My post was a comment about Sally going to the vet. Please reread it and you will see it was not even a drop of "so there" attitude. I am so put off by responses here. I am not some young stupid person. Before I even got Sally I did massive research about Tortoises more probably most people on here. Just because I am an animal lover and an AKC breeder doesn't say I feed Sally dog food. This is what I objected to and want an apology for the pile on. Not everyone here is a Russian Tortoise expert and I thought this was a forum to post your pet and say things without getting attacked. By the way, tell the person who commented to me about FB I haven't been there in years and has nothing to do with anything. If this forum can't be respectful that is your problem. I have never been disrespectful to anyone here unless they commented something out of bounds. I am trying to let you know that I am not the one here who doesn't know about Sally or would take her to anyone I didn't completely trust. So please look inward to the people that started this. I love animals but refuse to be treated like I am unaware of anything to do about Sally. Thank you
It is not the first time I have received off-topic comments about my breeding of dogs. So yes I did react to that comment. You and others have totally left out the part of Sally's feeding of fresh veggies & fruit but jumped on that one issue about an OTC food I said she liked. It has been a big deal because of not very nice comments directed at me as a pet ownerSo, here is where your 'so there' attitude is reflected.
I don't think anyone was accusing you of feeding your Sally dog food. I think she was saying, the vet can't tell what you are feeding just by looking at her shell, and used dog food as an exaggerated example of what a person could be feeding. You are feeding her some greens, and some wrong veggies (corn, peas), and some wrong fruit (apple) and some wrong pebbled foods (Flukers).
Many of us keepers feel about those Fluker's pebbles similarly as IF they were dog food being fed to a tortoise...